He's in charge of the laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that tests new vehicles for compliance with emissions standards, and measures automakers' progress in meeting government-mandated efficiency targets.

Grundler joined the EPA in 1980, and has held his current position since 2012. (He drives a Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, in case you were wondering.)

And he first helped gain attention for the Michigan lab in 1997 by modifying a pickup truck to counter a campaign by automakers claiming that trucks couldn't be made to meet the same emissions standards as cars.

More recently, the lab helped confirm the use of illegal "defeat device" software on Volkswagen diesel cars, discovered by researchers from West Virginia University working with the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

Grundler also helped write the 2025 CAFE standards, and is currently leading tests that will be part of a midterm review of those standards.

He also calculated cost projections for compliance with the standards, which were included in a "Technical Assessment Report" released by the EPA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and California Air Resources Board (CARB) earlier this year.

2016 Dodge Dart

Perhaps not surprisingly, Grundler's work has brought him into regular conflict with carmakers.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) disputes Grundler's cost estimate of $2,254 per vehicle, which was based on the relatively low average fuel economy of FCA's fleet, and the fact that it includes very few electrified cars.